


Brother's In Arms

by pirateenthusiast



Category: MASH (TV)
Genre: Gen, Self-Reflection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28379241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pirateenthusiast/pseuds/pirateenthusiast
Summary: After Radar leaves, Klinger realizes how much he loves the people around him.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Brother's In Arms

Once the rest of the unit finally stopped pissing all over Klinger for his admittedly less than competent talents as company clerk, he was thrust full force into the bustle of the job. During the first week, he hardly had a moment to think. It was all work and no rest. Halfway through finagling with Sparky for a new reel for the bored camp’s movie night, he’d be called by an angry Major Houlihan demanding to know where those requisition forms she asked for were. Then it was the mail route, then it was a daily chewing out from Potter when Klinger inevitably forgot to write up the weekly, daily, hourly, heck, secondly reports. It was exhausting. At least he no longer had to deal with KP duty. He didn’t know how Radar had done it all.

Radar. As busy as Klinger had been that week, he hadn’t had a moment of spare time to think about the ex-clerk. He was probably enjoying the coldest bottle of Grape Nehi he’d had in two years right about now. With a fond pang to the heart, Klinger was suddenly hit with a sense of loneliness. He missed the little guy. A lot. Despite the stress on their relationship in those final days, the two had been very close. 

Who else would tut disapprovingly, but get Klinger what he needed whenever the mood for a Section 8 scheme struck? Who would scoff with him at the silly antics of Peirce and Hunnicutt? Well, Charles, probably, but it wouldn’t be the same. The point was he really really missed Radar. 

Would he ever see him again? Everyone talked big about meeting up after the war, but really, who would want to be reminded of this place, however many years down the line? 

Klinger looked at the empty desk and realized he had a few moments free time for the first time all week. He stepped outside, hands in pockets to take a stroll around the unit.

There were Pierce and Hunnicutt. Hunnicutt rolling some sort of barrel across the camp, as Pierce ‘directed’ him, hands waving and mouth shushing. Clearly they were trying to be sneaky about whatever it was they were up to, but were completely failing. Klinger let out a small chuckle. The pair was completely ridiculous, as usual. He had never met a couple that made him laugh so much. Even the Piercentyre duo hadn’t reached these levels of insanity. 

He continued walking, dust kicking up as he went. He passed the Swamp. The sound of Bach- or some other pretentious pianist- floated out of the tent into Klinger’s ears. A peer inside the tent flaps revealed a peaceful Charles, his leg kicked up, letter from Honoria in hand. The guy could be insufferable, but in candid moments such as this one it was plain to see that he was just like everyone else in this place. 

On the way to the Officers club, Klinger walked past a group of nurses who were tittering over some shared book in their hands. 

“Hey Klinger!” One of them smiled. The rest looked up and waved. Klinger smiled back and kept walking. As he passed one tent, he heard the unmistakable noise of a poker game. Probably Igor, Zale, and the rest of the usual corpsmen poker gang. Damn. He hadn’t played poker in what seemed like forever, with all these new duties. It was probably too late to deal him into this current game now, and besides, he didn’t feel like talking to people right now, for some reason. He was busy  _ brooding _ , is what Radar would have told him. 

He stepped into the Officer’s Club. Mulcahy was playing a jaunty, mildly off key tune on the piano. Major Houlihan sat at the bar, nursing a drink. Klinger sidled up in the seat next to her and ordered a drink. He avoided her gaze, not in the mood to be yelled at. She surprised him, instead turning to him and gently saying “Is everything ok, Klinger.”

“Me, oh I’m just dandy, Major.” Klinger grabbed his drink and nodded in thanks. 

“Oh? You just don’t seem your usual, loud and aggravating self, is all”

He shot a glare in her direction.

A pause. “I’m sorry for how we treated you right after Radar left, you know.” she said. “We were all a bit too harsh on you. You’re certainly doing better at your job now-well, a little.”  
Klinger sighed, but appreciated the apology. “It’s not that Major, really!” 

“Oh-” Margaret began but turned her head as the door to the club swung open once again. Somehow Pierce had made his way over and was beginning the ceremonious chatting up of nurses. Klinger watched him call out the name of a song to Mulcahy, who gladly began banging away the new number at the keys. Klinger looked around the club and saw all these people go about their way. He’d seen it a thousand times before. It was familiar. He relished it, he realized. These people and their predictable antics felt like home. 

“It’s just. . .” he began, and Margaret turned her head back to him. She seemed to have forgotten she was talking to him in the first place. “I miss Radar, ya know? And I’m gonna miss you, too.”

“Me? Klinger,  _ I’m _ not going anywhere.” Margaret laughed.

“Not now! But. . . we’ll all go home eventually. I’ll miss you then. I’ll miss everyone.” she just looked at him, an odd gaze in her eyes. Klinger suddenly felt embarrassed. “Never mind, I’m just tired.” He said, and turned back to his drink.

“No, I think I understand, Klinger, I. . .” she sighed. “The army’s all I know. It always has been. Once this god forsaken ‘police action’ is through with, I’ll move on to some other place, but I’ll miss everyone in this silly little M*A*S*H unit.” Hawkeye tapped Margarets shoulder, hand out to dance. Margaret slapped it away. “Maybe not him, though.” She chuckled. Klinger gave a polite huff in response. “But, Klinger,  _ you _ have a home to go back to. Remember Toledo? You know, the place you rave about on the  _ daily _ ?” 

Toledo. Somehow, he hadn’t thought about Toledo in a long while. Margaret was right. His sole focus for two years had been getting back to Toledo. Why didn’t he think of that now. Another quick glance around the room told him. “I don’t have much back in Toledo now, what with Laverne out of the picture” drink inhibited, he slipped without thinking, “You guys are my family now.”  
“You deserve that Section 8 if you consider this absurd bunch family.” Margaret scoffed, but sent a kind look his way. She swooped in awkwardly for a side hug. “We’ll see eachother again, after the war, Corporal. You know that Captain Hunnicutt won’t pass up a chance to plan some big reunion party.” 

Klinger smiled. She wasn’t wrong. “Thanks Major.” 

“Hey, Klinger, lovely lady, spare a dance for a poor debauched schmuck like me?” a slurring Hawkeye yelled.

Klinger rolled his eyes at Margaret. “Anything for you, Captain Pierce.” he stood up and took Hawkeye’s hand dramatically. They stumbled around as Margaret and the nurses cheered and laughed, and the Father played louder. 

Klinger smiled. Yeah, he would miss these fools, but this was a never ending war anyway; he might as well enjoy it while it lasted. 


End file.
